With hundreds of custom ROMs and handful of Official firmwares, here comes the need for backing up your EFS partition data as well as the IMEI data so that just in case if any of these data gets lost or corrupted then this article can be of great help. Many users report that either their phone doesn’t detect the SIM Card or IMEI shows “unknown” after installing some custom ROM firmwares. Here comes this article to your savior, as after following this article you will be in a position to back up the data.

For all those who doesn’t know what exactly is EFS, then EFS is actually an internal partition which stores the crucial data like MAC address of your Wi Fi, Bluetooth and also the IMEI number which is nothing but the file named as nv_data.bin file. Just in case if this EFS data gets lost, then you will not be able to make any voice calls as most of the operators doesn’t allow latching of the netwokrk without the IMEI number.

Though there are many ways with which you can make a backup of the EFS Folder but we will guide you with the simple and effective manner so that you can not only backup but also the same can be restored effortlessly.

Like we said that there are many ways with which you can back up the EFS data, one of the simplest method is by just rooting the device first and then with the help of the Root explorer, you can take a backup of the EFS folder but in this case there will be issues in restoring the same. So, to avoid this situation, we will check out the two simple ways with which you can backup and restore the EFS folder.

Method 1:

All thanks to Hellcat for developing a great tool which has a simple GUI to help you back up the EFS Folder. To use this tool first up you need to Download the “KTool by Hellcat” from Android Market Place and then you need to install the same. Please note that to make use of this tool, it’s important for your device to be rooted. After this, you need to open the application and select “Backup EFS to /sdcard/efs.img” option to back up the EFS folder.

To restore the EFS, you need to select the option of “Restore EFS from /sdcard/efs.img” to restore the EFS Folder.

So there you go, you have now successfully learnt on how to backup as well restore the EFS data. Just in case if you wish to backup and restore via another method then you can watch out for the same below.

Method 2:

Using a tool called EF Pro tool by XDA, you can back up or restore with the help of the PC tool which we will be checking out in the due course.

First up, download the EFS Pro Tool from here to your computer and then enable the UB Debugging in your phone. enable the USB Debugging Mode in your phone from the path “Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging. Ensure that the USB Debugging option is ticked as shown in the below screen capture.

Minimum charge left in the phone should be at least 60% so as to ensure that the phone doesn’t get turned Off in the middle of firmware update.

Now, connect your phone to the computer and extract the files to open the executable file as shown in the below screen capture.

After this, you need to click on “Backup EFS” and “Restore EFS” to make use of the respective options.

Do let us know in the comments section just in case if you face any issues as we will try our level best to sort out the same.

Nothing in that tute about ktool being *only* for a Galaxy S-II, and no help at all about how to edit the EFS folder once its on the PC. With an old backup, IMEI’s can be restored, but not for as long as you stupid dev’s keep bringing out apps that create more issues than repairs…

The developer, which uses his knwoledge to develope a possible solution of a problem or “Mr Super Rookie”, who acts without a flare of knowledge and wreck his Gadged by pure stupidity =!?Best way: blame the developer for your own mistakes .Blame everyone, but never blame yourself for your own faults 😉 It makes no sense to use any tool/ app that you do not understand. In this case – im pretty sure- you have no idea of the two mentioned tools .These are designed and used as a preventative measure and not for the worst case scenario, when “Mr Super Rookie” has already technically wrecked his gadget.

The developer, which uses his knwoledge to develope a possible solution of a problem or “Mr Super Rookie”, who acts without a flare of knowledge and wreck his Gadged by pure stupidity =!?Best way: blame the developer for your own mistakes .Blame everyone, but never blame yourself for your own faults 😉 It makes no sense to use any tool/ app that you do not understand. In this case – im pretty sure- you have no idea of the two mentioned tools .These are designed and used as a preventative measure and not for the worst case scenario, when “Mr Super Rookie” has already technically wrecked his gadget.

The developer, which uses his knwoledge to develope a possible solution of a problem or “Mr Super Rookie”, who acts without a flare of knowledge and wreck his Gadged by pure stupidity =!?Best way: blame the developer for your own mistakes .Blame everyone, but never blame yourself for your own faults 😉 It makes no sense to use any tool/ app that you do not understand. In this case – im pretty sure- you have no idea of the two mentioned tools .These are designed and used as a preventative measure and not for the worst case scenario, when “Mr Super Rookie” has already technically wrecked his gadget.

Hi Neela,
The method 1 by HC K-tool is incompatible with the SGS GT I9000. When I downloaded and tried to open that application, I got the response :’This app is intended to be used *only* on an ‘Samsung Galaxy S II’device, it will do no good on but rather harm any other devices’.